What are the defining elements of a "non-generic" fantasy

If something becomes a defining element, it's no longer non-generic.

There is no way to avoid becoming generic if you are successful. It's how media and markets work.

>>51441139
>What are the defining elements of a "non-generic" fantasy setting, /tg/?
A lack of the defining elements of generic fantasy.

Generally? A lack of psuedo-Western-European aesthetics, few to no playable non-human races, a deliberate attempt to draw on the legends and aesthetics of cultures outside the Western and Northern European spheres (Arabian Nights, Chinese mythology, Japanese mythology, and Slavic mythology seem most popular right now), a deliberate attempt to present elves as alien and sinister beings that are not at all humanlike, and a general aversion to classical fantasy tropes in general, are all hallmarks of the "non generic" fantasy setting. And yes, they will become generic themselves if they catch on widely, that's how the cycle works.

Just subvert every trope and make it as cynical and dark as possible.

>>51441223
I'm in favour of double subversion, where you make the setting super light and earnest, and take classical fantasy elements and drive them to their logical conclusion.

>>51441223
I know that it's basically a joke but this is getting really annoying as of late

>>51441223
>>51441237
>Just subvert tropes!

Oh my God, I wish TV Tropes had never fucking existed.

What the fuck is a "trope"? What fucking "tropes" are you talking about? How do you "subvert" a "trope"? These words have been so overused that they've become fucking meaningless.

Hell, last time I checked TV Tropes, the fuckers were listing the opposites of many tropes as tropes in themselves, so tropes are fucking impossible to avoid. Never mind that many "tropes" are just the most shallow, surface-level bullshit possible, like a character having red hair or shit.

Fuck TV Tropes, and fuck anyone who takes that pseudo-intellectual dumpster fire seriously.

>>51441377

Given that you're letting the existence of a site like that completely redefine the meanings of words for you, have you ever thought that you might be the one taking it too seriously?

'Tropes' is a simple shorthand for narrative cliches, and being aware of the categories things fall into can be useful, as well as letting you look at how similar things might have been executed.

Of course, there is a downside in that bad writers can rely too heavily on citing/drawing from tropes without looking at the deeper reasons why they became tropes in the first place, as well as how to correctly use and execute them in the broader context of a story.

>>51441377
>i'm just going to go on an unrelated rant because i don't like a particular website
I don't even use TvTropes, you clown, nor did I mention tropes in my post.
The fact that you "cannot even imagine" what a fantasy trope is, or what is meant by a subversion, puts you in an extremely bad light. You're ridiculous.

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>>51441139
Just be yourself, man.

>>51441139
You answered your own question, didn't you? It's anything that doesn't have European medieval, Tolkienesque or D&D aesthetics. Although including D&D into this list makes no sense, because it's not a setting, but a gaming system.

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Marketing successfully. If you emblazon a trope so heavily and skillfully, many people will forget that it is generic and commonly represented in the genre.

Marketing does everything skilled writers used to do.

>>51441746
>Marketing successfully.
I guess that's true, even if we don't like it.

Defining elements of generic fantasy
>grey morality
>evil repressive religions
>evil nobles
>stupid commoners
>"the empire"
>humanoid monsters and races, the more beautiful the worse
>monsters and humans coexist in the same regions
>magic creates colorful light
>humans/sapients can use magic
>higher beings than humans clearly exist
>people know who the gods are
>no over-the-top edgy/sue characters

Ultimately non-generic fantasy does NOT rely on challenging these tropes, it relies on having its own ideas and themes of merit which define the setting. If you make a setting with the opposite of the things I listed, it will probably still be generic.

>>51442010
Oh yeah
>armor which tries really hard to be mundane and realistic but only aims at aesthetic and has zero effort into making it practical

>>51442010
Some of those things are just taken for granted.
>monsters and humans coexist in the same regions
This is annoying. Having settlements that are in decades or even centuries old conflicts with the trolls/minotaurs/orcs right next door. One side would either move or kill the other.

>>51441377

Much like this place, it's a pretty good website to steal ideas from.

>neatly organized categories to pick a variety of tropes from to create new characters/plots/settings
>a litmus test for what's considered over-used, too unoriginal, or desirable in a world
>a wide range of obscure references that can be hi-jacked

I've almost managed to make a living off of these two places alone (and SCP). The wealth of information is so helpful.

>>51442925
Make a living? What do you use those sites for?

>>51442108
Or, you know, they wouldn't be in conflict at all?

>>51443519
Being a hack writer, clearly.
Not that it pays well, but it's not like anyone tells the truth around here.

>>51443716
This is a really long shot, but you don't happen to run a youtube channel with short documentaries about random myths and whatnot?

>>51441154
How do we destroy this?

>>51445648
Keep normies out.

The cycle goes: niche people invent thing, it spreads, normies enter, then social manipulators enter and bring it "to the mainstream" to have more normies to control.

Ban the normies, block the decline.

>>51445692

My fucking god, this attitude is the most toxic bullshit imaginable.